[Location] Vortex City Gates (self modded)

[Opelya Kitrye'veresi]

Opelya nodded wearly at the female guard. "Aye miss I know all to well the evil that lurks around in the alleys waiting for the weak to prey on. Vortex isn't the only place where horrid things come to pass." She shook her head at a memorie and put her visa back into her bag. "I actually feel much safer here, because I know exactly what to expect. Anywhere else it must come as a shock. Thank you for your assistance." She actually smiled at the guard and continued on her path home.

[Imaji]

17th of Optia, evening

Imaji liked the hard stuff. She felt bored of the happy and sunny forests filled with elves and fairies.......they were too calm and peaceful for someone like her. She was young and energy was the force that made her keep searching for the different. For the hundreds of challenges and dangers, waiting only for her. She craved to find a place, deserving to be a shelter for her endless passion and fire, to find people who preferred extreme situations and adrenaline rushes more than a living a happy and quiet life, surrounded by always nice and smiling neighbours- so friendly and so.......normal.

That is why Imaji came to Vortex. The mysterious and dark place that a lot of people talked about and no one dared to visit. And she was finally there, not just for a day but able to start a life filled with interesting experiences, full of darkness and magic. Was she afraid? No...."what could a young and fearless lightborn be searching for?" she thought. "A place of angry dark elves, of course" she smiled to herself, impatient to face the city.

The girl approached the two guards, her long black hair tossed by the evening wind and revealing a fair and beautiful girlish face. She gave them a slight smile and took her visa out of the pocket of her dark blue silk coat. " Serale! My name is Imaji and I want to live in Vortex."

[Kalinda]

It did not happen often that a lightborn elf – and one that was young and female at that! – approached the gates of the dark city of Vortex, and thus Jamison’s eyes almost seemed to fall out of their sockets as his gaze fell on Imaji. He was openly staring at her. His jaw dropped as if he had never seen an elf before. While his colleague Terren who was taking a break and sitting in the guard house at the moment would have managed to be polite the dark haired human’s love for alcohol had affected his behaviour – negatively. He was rather rude.

“Ah yes ...” he said and snatched the visa from her hands while he was secretly dreaming about the bottle of ale that was waiting for him in the guardhouse. A frown marred his face as he looked the document over, but unfortunately there was nothing major wrong with it. With a sigh he returned it to the girl. “Seems it is not fake …” he muttered with a hint of disappointment in his voice. Jamison had gone without alcohol for too long, and it was showing. He was in a bad mood.

“So you want to live in Vortex, huh?” he asked and took a closer look at Imaji. “What is a pretty little thing like you doing among the evil vysstichi? They are gonna kill you, girl. They are mean. They eat lightborn elves for praecenda. Maybe one of them is going to make you his slave …”

[Imaji]

What was this human thinking? Imaji hated being regarded as only a girl or an elf, weak and fragile, and defenceless. No! She was completely sure that she was just as able to kick faces and break noses as the big human standing before her, actually as all angry vystichi wandering in Vortex. And she would prove it was true......soon.

The way the guard reacted to her stating she wanted to live in the dark city made Imaji's eyes flash with angry wild fires, her pale cheeks got blushed and she came closer to him, placing her hands instinctively on her thin waist.

' If you want to know, I'm not afraid......At all! And this is none of your business.'

Imaji was impatient to find out whether the dark elves in Vortex were as evil and dangerous as most people said. She herself found them.....well.... interesting? The girl had never seen a vysstichi before and imagined them as cool and mysterious people, passionate and sensual, brave and daring. Just as herself. Oh, why weren't there any such creatures where she had grown up, why had she wasted so much time surrounded by the weak?

Actually the elf didn't want to fight dark elves, she longed for being next to them, sharing their feelings and exciting experiences, full of dangers. Was this possible? Would they accept her and help her find what she needed so badly?

[Darilic T'Kon]

Walking towards the gates of Vortex, Darilic felt excitment wash through him. Never in his life, not even when he had killed the bastard that had tortured him for the last nine years, had he felt a feeling like this. His revenge was all that mattered, and the means of getting that revenge was at hand.

Although a Dracon by birth Darilic was in the form of a Dark Elf, and a formable one indeed. Standing two inches over seven feet, with broad shoulders, and a sinuous was of moving, that was both graceful, and fluid, Darilic's form would make many give a second thought to harassing the Elf, dark or not. That and maybe the fact that his hands ended in claws as black at the leather he wore, and appeared as sharp as razors, and his eyes shone red with a burning inner light.

As he neared the gates Darilic saw the two guard towers to either side of the massive gate, as well as the two guards standing to either side of it, checking visa's and asking people their buisness. Not bothering to wait, Darilic walked up to the guards, producing the visa he had taken from his former master, and saying in a deep, gravely, baritone," My buisness in Vortex is to obtain weapons, and training. I am also here to look into some buisness ventures as well that I was told would be quite lucrative. That will not be a prblem will it?"

Darilic looked at the pair in front of him through hooded eyes, trying to make the red color dim a bit so not the scare them. The time had not yet come for him to take his revenge. Once within the city, and after recieving the training that he needed, he would make the world see who Darilic T'Kon really was. On it's knees if need be, but he would be vindicated, and he would take his revenge.

[Kalinda]

Darilic T’Kon

The brightening had gone well for Jamison, one of the two guards that worked at the gates of Vortex – until Darilic decided to approach him. The human had already drunk a fair bit of alcohol even though the suns had not gone down yet, and it was showing in everything. Darilic could smell his bad breath from about two dozen metres’ distance. His face was reddened, and his blue eyes had taken on a most unusual shimmer. The human’s hands trembled slightly, and he tried in vain to brush the strands of ebony hair that had fallen into his face and kept him from seeing the visitor clearly, out of his face. Jamison’s movements were a bit off and rather uncoordinated.

He narrowed his eyes until they were nothing more than slits as Darilic stood in front of him – and let out a small scream. “What ... what are you?” he asked and grabbed his pike that was lying on the ground together with two empty bottles of red wine and his black and purple uniform jacket. The human was not wearing his entire uniform, but only a sleeveless shirt and his pants. “How can any elf be that tall? I always thought that vysstichi males were short. Are you half giant?” He took the visa from the elf’s hands and looked it over before he called for his fellow guard, a young half vysstichi woman by the name of Terren.

The half elf peeked around the door of the guardhouse before she stepped outside. She had just come in time to hear what Darilic wanted in Vortex. “If you want to buy weapons, you should check Elegant Blades out ...” she told him. “As for training, I would suggest Fitness and Bones or Issar’s. Fitness and Bones is run by Markener, a friend of mine ...” She smiled as if there was nothing wrong with the tall vysstichi in front of her, if his height did not bother her at all. “There is no problem with anything, sir ...” she assured him and then nudged Jamison, gave him a sign to walk to the guardhouse and stay there until he was sober again and able to treat people politely.

OOC: Darilic, could you please make your PC a bit shorter? Above average height is fine, but 7’2 is a bit too much. If you want a PC that is that tall, you have to apply for it in the Help Desk.

[Darilic T'Kon]

OOC: Okay, I have been granted permission to keep my PC at 7' even. So I'll edit my Cir and make my Dracon shape 7' and my Dark Elf form about 6' 6" so I'm not THAT big. I hope this is ok with you. I still habe the permission if you would like to see verification.

IC: Darilic was used to people being startled by his height. And seeing the human before him shiver in fear made Darilic smile with pleasure. The massive Dracon could almost smell the fear rolling off the man in waves, and it's perfume was intoxicating to the dracon.

Giving the human one last look Darilic turned to the half vysstichi woman who had spoken saying," Aye, I will, and my thanks to you. However I would like to know if perhaps there is a House that is hiring troops? I would like to recieve training, while at the same time earning some type of income. Would you know of a House such as this? And if so, perhaps I could get the directions to said House."

Darilic waited patiently for an response. He needed to have a steady income for a while, until he recieved the training that he so desired, and needed. There were other ways that he could go about getting what he wanted, but they would take entirely too long for the dracon's taste, and Darilic was never noted for his ability to wait for things to happen.

[Kalinda]

OOC: As a GD I can read all posts in the Help Desk, so I know that you have been given permission to have a 7’ dracon. Your PC’s height is of course okay with me (even though 6’6 is extremely tall for a vysstichi).

“House Kitrye’veresi, the first House of Har’oloth may be hiring troops. They have recently gone to war with a group of necromancers, but I do not know the details of it. I’m only half vysstichi so those that are in charge refuse to tell me the really important things ...” Terren shrugged her shoulders. If she had been born underground, her life would have been easier if both her parents had been vysstichi, but here it did not really matter, was. On the surface her human heritage was an advantage at times. Her eyes were less sensitive towards the light.

“House Kitrye’veresi resides on the third and lowest plane of Har’oloth, near the temple of Carnal Love. The Second House may also be interested in a man that looks that tall and strong, but there are Esh’lahier among their ranks ...” She spoke slowly, looking up into his eyes, trying to gauge his reaction to this revelation. It was a wellknown fact that most vysstichi outside of Har’oloth hated the paleskinned folk with a passion, considered them traitors.

“My father had contact with Lady Eilantha, a sorceress of the Second House every once in a while ...” she concluded. Her father, the Lich, had been one of the most successful criminals in Vortex – until he had disappeared from the face of Telath. He had been killed by a Nosferatu, but Terren did not know that, and she would likely never find it out.

[Jha'rach D'Rinishad]

Jha'rach slipped quietly out of the gates of the vortex, his first step into a world where he could not escape to the earthen quagmire of darkness which was Har'oloth. He would have to become accustom to the proverbial heat and light that manifested itself half of every brightening.

This was not a new life, he would return, he must, this was the one place where there was plentiful amounts of work for his profession... But perhaps more importantly, the ceaseless darkness gave him comfort, he doubted he would ever lose that lust, the lust of silence, the forgiveness of the silence, the unchanging beautiful shadows which coveted and kept secret his existence.

Nothing lasts forever, his exposure to the world would become known, it was inevitable... He was a gift to his profession.

And, so taking one look back at the darkened gates of a city he had spent his entire life below, he drew his ebony cloak about him and flitted silently into the surrounding foliage bearing a south-westernly direction.

[Opelya Kitrye'veresi]

Summer in the Era X PF in the Age of Darkening, of the 6th brightening in the cycle of Thera, in the month of Imperos. Almost Sunset.

Even though it was summer Opelya felt a chill travel down her spine as she stepped out of the dark alley. She'd changed more then she thought was possible since the last time she'd left Vortex. Pulling her cloak close about her face she looked behind her. She had to leave to find herself. To finally figure out why she was there in the first place. She was no longer innocent, innocent of her race or her past. She knew the way she was supposed to be now. She was a dark elf, not a human and not some half breed nobody. Some kind of noble blood ran through her veins, and she would no longer be ashamed of herself. She didn't look back again, but walked over the threshhold of the gates and into the outside world. The air even seemed different out there. I'll be back soon my sweet....

[Teyala]

~Carmelyana, Third Cycle of Imperos~
~Summer, Era X~
~Valerian Supports Audrey as Empress~
~Late Afternoon~

In a place full of darkness and evil intent, where the soldiers of darkness and those with unlawful practices lived, there was one such person who probably didn't fit in with the rest of the astranged society. That was one Relequis female named Teyala. Teyala was a Relequis that had seen some strange things in her thus far relatively short lifespan. Necromaners, Mystics, slavers, killers, mercenaries, strange arcanic beasts, weird environments that defied normal logic, places haunted by spirits and several other odd situations. But in a place such as Vortex, she could imagine this would be one of her most difficult tasks. To put it plainly, how was someone like her supposed to look like the rough and tumble individual that would get others to leave her along? Big fluffy tail, only a few fingers over four feet tall, big overgrown incisors. She was an overgrown squirrel.

People were afraid of sharks, bears, monsters, some humans, dark elven kind...but no one was really afraid of squirrels. Squirrels were comical, not intimidating. Still, she didn't mind being the underdog. Strangely enough, despite her size and appearance, she had some fairly decent skills to keep herself safe. Her maneuvers and techniques were far from perfect, but she was beyond the normal unskilled individual who could only avoid trouble through instict and spirit.

Seeing the tall, imposing gates closing in on her, she realized it was time to put on her best 'game face' in order to survive in this city, even if she was only going to have a short stay. She had come to gain information on someone, though that was a face that she would rather keep secret for now. In the meantime, she ensured that her excuse was enough to keep her real intent a mystery, while at the sametime allowing her to answer any questions without having to lie, which was something she didn't enjoy doing, even if it was in the mist of unruley folk.

Walking up to the Guards, in her best dark and serious voice, which still ended up being high-pitched and squeaky no matter how much she tried, she handed over her visa with a furry clawed paw and stated her business, "I'm looking to increase my training in unarmed combat, I want to see what avaliable training wise. I won't be here long." she stated, and the purpose itself was very sincere. She was looking to increase her training in unarmed combat, although she knew she wouldn't have enough time to learn it while she was attempting to achieve her true objective.

[Kalinda]

There were two guards on duty this afternoon, watching all people that came and left: a human male and a young woman who obviously had a fair share of dark elven blood in her veins. The human was tall and sported brilliant blue eyes and pitch black hair. He would have been handsome if it weren't for the perpetual shimmer of red on his cheeks, a shimmer that spoke of entirely too much alcohol. There were dark stains, traces of recently spilled wine on his black and purple uniform. The woman at his side on the other hand was lovely and not an alcoholic, at least not at first glance. She had the white hair and the dark eyes of the vysstichi. In any other city a half dark elf with such a job would have been a rarity and the source of a fair amount of concern, but Vortex had a strong vysstichi population. It had always been friendly towards the darker races.

People were coming and going all the time, but Teyala was the only relequis among the mass of elves, dracons and humans. She could not see any other member of her race. Chances were that she was the only relequis that had ever entered Vortex voluntarily, the only female one at least. The others, the few that had seen Vortex from the inside, had come as slaves, nicely tied up to be sold at the local slave market. The city was not really suited to one of her kind. It was much too dark, much too evil, too full of crime. In fact some of the vysstichi that passed the gate stared at her openly, jaws dropping, wondering what a girl like here was doing in their city on a brightening like this when the sky was dark and covered with ominous clouds.

The male guard seemed to imitate them, acted just like the vysstichi. His jaw dropped, and his eyes widened as she walked up to him and his colleague. He stared at her for a few moments, mumbling incoherently before he nudged the half elven woman. “Terren ...” he whispered, not realizing that it was impolite to talk this way about people that were listening. “What kind of creature is this? She looks like an oversized squirrel!” The woman sighed and answered, “Relequis. I don't think I've seen one of her kind here since I started working as a guard ...”

With that she took Teyala's visa and looked it over briefly before she returned it. “If you seek training in unarmed combat, you should visit Fitness and Bones. The school is run by Markener, a dear friend of mine ...” The expression on the pale woman's face told the relequis that he was a bit more than that, that the guard had feelings for this Markener. “He is a capable individual. I think he offers unarmed combat ...” After a short pause she added, “But be careful. Not everybody will be kind to you. Vortex can be a dangerous place ...”

[Teyala]

The Rodenti accepted the visa back into her clawed paw and tucked it securely into a pouch. She hadn't a clue what type of people lurked around Vortex, but taking no chances she made sure to bank most of her money and stored most of her items in Riparia. The last thing she needed was some expert pick pocket nailing her goods here. It was going to be a short stay anyway, as brief as she could make it, while still achieving her main objective. She imagined, if she could get in with some conversations, possible in the inn or tavern, more then likely if the one she sought was an established individual it wouldn't be difficult at all to gain good information.

"Fitness and Bones eh?" she responded in kind to the guard's suggestion, noting the interesting way she spoke of the individual whom apparently taught the unarmed arts there. "Hehe..." she thought to herself, "No matter how evil or cruel a place is, people are still just people." Maybe the hype of Vortex made it seem darker then it truly was? There had to be good people lurking within the City, just as there are not so good people lurking in bastions of purity.

At the secondary comment about Teyala's safety within Vortex, the Relequis replied, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I've been in alot of stuff in my life, thanks for the concern though." Though that was mostly true, she had seen her fair share of odd things in this world, she hoped that she would indeed be fine. A perfect stay would be one where she could go in, be basically unnoticed by the population at large, ask her questions, and get out before drawing any attention from threatening things. With a slight wave she regarded the two guards and began walking into the City if there was nothing else needed of her.

[Kimorr Illmatar]

OOC: So, I'm supposed to be able to self-mod this little situation out, as to save mod time, jump on me if I bunny.

Timestamp: 20th of Ioannes, in the Summer of Era X, PF, in the Age of the Darkening

IC: The guards saw another human, and the human just saw another pair of guards. He showed his visa, and spoke in response. "I wish to explore the cities of the empire until I find one which suits me." It wasn't the most standard of reasons, but Kimorr, after a hard trek over mountains, simply wasn't the most normal of people. The guards accepted and returned his standard visa, and his reason, although Kimorr suspected they might find it funny. He wasn't sure what to expect from Vortex, but as him and Omega took there first steps into this strange, new, and dangerous city, he pondered what the Jorel-cursed Aeternia possessed him to leave Zinn'Sunn... or even Vers...

[Ryu Tatsu]

Ryu walked in through the city gates in a shadow, attempting to be unnoticed by the busied guards and enter the city.